Syracuse police arrested two teenagers and recovered a handgun following a short car chase that ended when the suspects' vehicle jumped a curb and came to a crash landing on an earthen berm.

Jaron Flagg, 18, and James E. Hudson Jr., 17, both of Syracuse, were arrested at about 5:30 p.m. when the airbags deployed in the black Oldsmobile they were riding in on Thurgood Terrace near Croton Terrace, Lt. Shawn Broton said.

As he fled, one of the teens tried to force his way into the 120 Thurgood Terrace home of Margaret Watson, 76. Watson said she injured her hand as she and her brother pushed the stranger out of their living room.

"It scared me to death," she said.

Officers Brent Potts and Sean Thomas, who began pursuing the vehicle on Cortland Avenue after noticing it was missing a front plate and was uninspected, apprehended the youths, Broton said.

The charges against the two were not immediately available as police continued their investigation.